Early in the month, Bus was trundled off to our mechanic to have the little radiator leak rectified. I was not looking forward to the prospect of finding somewhere in Bendigo to do future services and repair work on Bus.
Four days before we were due to move, John drove the Bus to Bendigo and left it parked on site at the Marong Tourist Park. Daughter drove him home the next day and stayed on to help with the final packing and cleaning, and to transport our collection of potted plants in her covered trailer. That was one type of item the removalists would not take.
Another had been John’s pile of several large slabs of African Mahogany timber, that he’d had shipped from Darwin back in 2006. These had lived in an alcove at the back of the carport, until such time as he got round to making tables out of them. Back in April we had, with a huge effort, loaded them onto John’s new tandem trailer and he’d taken that to Bendigo, to live, trailer and all, in a shed that daughter had arranged, until we moved. Getting rid of those had really improved the appearance of the front of the place – and was something that had been “going to happen” for over a decade!
Much neater without a great stack of timber in there…
After the initial excitement of the new house purchase had died down, we faced the question – now what? The radical de-cluttering of a few months previous had seemed like a good idea in order to present our home in the best possible way. However, the thought that we might have months to fill in hadn’t really entered my mind.
The winter garden did not need much work to keep it looking good.
There was not so much packing still to do that I needed a whole three months in which to do it – and besides, we still needed our clothes, dinnerware, dog utensils and the like.
John could still work in his shed because that had not been de-cluttered yet. Given the valuable contents, he had not wanted it on display in the sale process. He was actually the one who could start to do some packing, but first there were still bowls to turn and boxes to make…
We weren’t game to go on a trip with Bus and leave the house unoccupied – in case something happened that would mess up our sale. Call it superstitious, but…
Mid-winter was a good time for me to settle in with some quilting work – but all my crafting things were in storage. My embroidery – ditto. Not a knitting or crochet needle left in the house. What about my colouring books – no, they were hiding in a box across town. I could go and buy a colouring book, but balked at the expense of decent pencils because mine too were packed away with the books – and the sudokus, crosswords… and so on.
Thank God for the computer! At least I had Solitaire, Mahjong and online jigsaw puzzles.
With all the screen time, a trip to the optometrist for new glasses became necessary. Along with a final session with our wonderful dentist, almost a welcome interlude – something to do!
Earlier in the year, consultation with a neurologist about increasing discomfort when walking had led to a series of tests and screens, squeezed in amongst the house preparation. August saw my follow-up visit to him, and the not-so-welcome news that ongoing deterioration of the old various damaged L bits in the lower back was now accompanied by some issues higher up, and general compaction of the spine. In other words, it ain’t going to get any better.
The garden put on a final impressive late winter into early spring display for me. I wasn’t going to have plants like azaleas and camellias in the hotter and drier climate of Bendigo.
The spring garden
Some of the shrubs had sentimental attachments: the camellia that had been a wedding present, the white one in front of the unit that my father had won at bowls. There was the beautifully delicate one that had grown from a cutting from mum’s garden – the original a Mothers Day present to her some 35 years ago. I thought about trying to strike cuttings of my favourites, but decided that both climate and poor soil would make success unlikely.
Mum’s camellia
In September, I commenced the final packing process – at a leisurely pace. It still resulted in an impressive number of boxes stacked up in the back rooms.
With hindsight, John should have done the same in his shed. That was a mammoth task and he kept putting it off…
Packed up to make the trip back across the Divide to the eastern suburbs. Left sat 11am.
If one had to pick the most inconvenient time for the agent to call about a house sale detail, it would, of course, be as I was trying to navigate John around the edge of central Bendigo. I had to ask him to give us half an hour and then call back. In the brief moments I was talking, John managed to take a wrong turn!
Help – which one goes to Heathcote?
Stopped at the very accessible Caltex servo on the edge of Heathcote, for fuel. $1.499cpl.
I was quite relieved when we reached home again, uneventfully. John had chosen not to put the Stop Leaks into the radiator ahead of the trip and I’d been a little on edge the whole of the time driving, that the leak might get worse and strand us on the highway somewhere.
Next time Bus makes this trip, it will have a new radiator.
Our new home has a driveway at the side, where Bus would fit – having a place to put it was one of the pre-requisites we had. We also had the option of storing it in a large shed on the Bendigo property of a family member – that might be the easier option. To be decided.
Even more exciting – once we are moved and settled in – areas across the north of the State, and beyond, are going to be more easily accessible for trips with Bus.
We had a goal to explore the length of the Murray, from Corryong to Lake Alexandrina. Whilst we had visited some places along the river, the idea of such a trek really appealed. Hopefully in 2019? Then there is the Barossa Valley of SA, the Fleurieu Peninsula…lots more places to go…
This Adventurous Age 